


In Your Eyes

by Victorious56



Category: RWBY
Genre: Dating, Fair Game Week (RWBY), Heterochromia, M/M, Modern Era, Rated for a Few Swears, Soulmates, random tech references for some reason
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:55:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23140549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Victorious56/pseuds/Victorious56
Summary: "I’m fed up with seeing your miserable face every day— you need to get laid. I’m doing what any concerned friend would do, giving you a nudge in the right direction. I mean, with your eyes this has to be your destiny, right?"Not everyone believes in the idea of a soulmate. And sometimes, you don't have to.In your eyesThe light the heatIn your eyesI am completeIn Your Eyes - Peter Gabriel
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 44





	In Your Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Fair Game Week 2020 on Tumblr: Day 4 - Soulmates
> 
> Fun fact: In real life no more than 1% of the population are thought to exhibit Heterochromia.

For the third time this week, Qrow directed the enquiring customer to the shelf which contained the book they were interested in. Also for at least the third time this week, he had to stare down the visitor who was looking boldly into his face, their eyebrows raised.

Since the article had appeared in Sunday’s paper, he had received more scrutiny than he could ever have wished for. His eyes weren’t that unusual— heterochromia was relatively common, affecting about ten percent of the population. But the nonsensical theories put forward by Professor Lena Docherty— _Professorship from the University of Internet almost certainly—_ had sparked a wave of interest in heterochromics which Qrow could have done without.

He hadn’t always liked his eyes. At school, a few of the other kids had decided having one red eye, and one green, marked you out as someone worthy of attention. Not good attention either, Qrow remembered with a sigh. He’d never been physically hurt, but children could be cruel in other ways.

He pushed the memories aside. They couldn’t help him now, and if his schooldays had shaped his character and lifestyle choices, well, so what? Lots of people were introverted, lots of people were shy and didn’t have too many friends, lots of people had found it hard to settle in one place and make a home they were comfortable in...

But boy was he popular now.

####  **HOW TO FIND YOUR HETEROCHROMIC SOULMATE**

Snappy headline, thought Qrow derisively. Who’s going to fall for that nonsense?

Quite a few people it as it turned out. _Tabloid rubbish_ , _it’ll be forgotten once the next celebrity scandal hits the headlines._

It was now Friday and the story seemed to be gaining traction. Follow-up articles and various online blogs and stories kept it fresh, and Qrow laughed to himself. Never had the obscure reference books on heterochromia received anything like this much interest, and he’d been working at the library for more than six months now. _Although if this keeps up I’ll be looking for another job._

He glanced at the clock and saw his shift should have finished five minutes ago. "See you tomorrow," he said to Yasmin, his colleague with two grey eyes which Qrow envied right now. She gave him a sympathetic smile. "The fuss will die down, you’ll see." Qrow smiled back and grabbed his jacket before heading out onto the high street.

Yasmin was extremely friendly and he wondered yet again if he should summon the courage to ask her out. The fact he’d known her for six months and hadn’t done so told its own story, he decided. _Now if only her eyes were the opposite to mine, I’d know_ , he thought with a twisted grin.

Qrow called into the optician’s and bought a pair of dark glasses.

❖

The next morning Qrow woke to a Geordie voice in his head. _It’s Day 7 in the Heterochromia House. Who will be called to the Diary Room today?_ He decided he was slowly going insane.

The Heterochromia Soulmate Test was now a thing. Apparently you could get your eye colours analysed and entered onto a database, and the system would match you with other people whose eyes were the direct opposite of yours. Or if there was no match, to someone who was close enough. Supposedly.

It was becoming increasingly common to see RGB values displayed on social media accounts. Dating apps were being furiously updated to include this new and supposedly vital piece of information. Etsy was awash with accessories carefully matched to your precise eye colour. Qrow felt sick. _Climate catastrophe and this is what society thinks is important._

"Hi Yasmin." As his colleague arrived she looked at Qrow with surprise.

"Had enough of the piercing looks, huh?"

"I’ve had laser eye surgery and have to wear these to protect my eyes as they acclimatise," Qrow said firmly.

"Oh, is that the story we’re going with? Fair enough." She put a hand on Qrow’s arm. "Your secret is safe with me," she whispered.

Qrow sighed, wondering how long he would have to keep up this pathetic charade.

❖

"You WHAT? Harriet, please tell me this is your idea of a joke."

"Oh lighten up Ebi, I didn’t use any identifiable information."

"Give me the account details, I’m deleting it right now. How many privacy laws have you broken, d’you reckon? You going for a new record?"

"No, I’m not. I’m fed up with seeing your miserable face every day— you need to get laid. I’m doing what any concerned friend would do, giving you a nudge in the right direction. I mean, with your eyes this has to be your destiny, right?"

Clover groaned. "I’m fine, and anyway, knowing my luck it would tell me my soulmate is some woman and I’d have to re-evaluate my whole life."

"Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it, keeping your options open does no harm," said Harriet with a knowing look.

"That’s you, okay? I know I only bat for one side."

"Anyway, there weren’t any close matches."

Clover tried to ignore the pinch of disappointment in his gut. "It’s gotta be stupid anyway, right? For a start, the eye isn’t one colour— the iris is speckled with dozens of different shades to make up the overall colour."

"Ah, but they use an _algorithm._ "

"Oh _well_ , no wonder the public are lapping it up. They trust algorithms more than they trust politicians. Which isn’t that difficult," he conceded.

"Well, obviously the whole soulmate thing is bollocks," agreed Harriet. "But the algorithm for the colour-matching... John Gruber wrote a piece about it. That part has some validity apparently."

Clover raised his eyebrows. "If it’s made it to Daring Fireball there might be something in it. At least partially."

"So shall I delete the account?" Harriet grinned wickedly.

"Nah, leave it for now. Why not?" Clover turned back to his screen. "Now we really should do some actual work. Have you reviewed the specs for the Atlas Cloud project?"

"I’m doing it right now." Harriet pulled herself towards her desk and did the best she could to look busy.

Clover stared at the screen. _Getting laid isn't the problem._ With his friendly personality and, he had to admit, decent body shape which other people seemed to like... _It's finding someone I want to see a second time is the problem._

Clover had got lucky in one aspect of his life. Starting up EbiSoft just as companies were beginning to realise their inadequate security systems needed an overhaul. Risking taking on staff but getting lucky again, as the almost paranoid response to cyber-crime, identity theft, and personal data harvesting kicked in. Now his small company was thriving and financially he was pretty comfortable. His personal life, however— luck didn't seem interested in that.

He looked at the diary for today. Marrow was at General Logistics, looking at a possible security breach which meant their servers had been taken down overnight. Elm and Vine were still at SDC head office, carrying out a complete audit of their security systems. And he was contemplating his rather lonely private life, wondering if there was anything at all in this stupid soulmate idea. _As if I could be so lucky_. He rubbed his eyes—one green, one red—and put on his glasses as he began to read through the contract document on the screen.

❖

"Are you sure you want to come and hang around with me for the weekend?" Qrow looked at his niece on the screen as she flicked through her phone.

"Yeah, why not, it's definitely reading week next week so I don't need to be back first thing Monday... I haven't seen you in ages and it'll be nice to have a change of scene."

"Everything okay there kiddo? You making friends and stuff?" Qrow didn't feel he was the best person to advise Ruby but he liked to try.

"Yeah, it's all good. I joined Fencing Club and there's a D&D group that meets twice a week. And more different kinds of cookie in the cafeteria than you ever saw in your life before."

"Looks like you picked the right uni then," Qrow laughed.

"Absolutely. So can you pick me up from the station on Friday? I'll let you know when the train will be getting in."

"Sure thing. See you then."

Ruby gave him a thumbs up and closed the call.

❖

He'd managed to ride out the media storm of _10 Things You Never Knew About Heterochromia_ and _13 Celebrities You Never Knew Were Heterochromics_ and _Found Your Heterochromic Soulmate? Here's How To Keep Them._ He liked the dark glasses and still wore them sometimes, prompting Yasmin to suggest he went for the whole clapped-out rock star look. "All you need is a battered leather jacket and an inappropriate hat."

"Hmm, not sure _looking like a Bono tribute act_ is in my job description."

Yasmin looked baffled. "What's Bono?"

Qrow remembered anew how old he was. "Come on, you must know Bono. Bono of the _I love my hat so much I'll pay for an airline seat to get it to me_. Bono of the _Every time I click my fingers—"_

"Oh yeah, him." Yasmin’s tone was dismissive. "No, you don’t want anyone thinking you’re a Bono fanboy." She considered him. "You look fine just how you are."

Qrow found himself blushing. "Yasmin, I have to ask. Do we fancy each other?"

She shouted with laughter, then looked across the library in a guilty fashion. "Good grief, why do you say that? I mean, surely you know how you feel?"

"I'm not sure... I like you, of course... I'm not always good at reading emotions, personal interactions, you know..." He looked at her as she smiled slightly at him.

Yasmin put her hand on his arm. "Qrow, you're a sweet guy and I like working with you. You're just not my type."

"Hmm, prefer more of a gym rat look, is that it?"

"Only if they go to a women only gym," she replied, her smile widening.

"Oh. _Oh._ " Qrow blushed again. "Sorry, I'm dense sometimes."

"Don't beat yourself up about it. Like I said, we get on well and it's fun working with you. So that's good, right?"

"Right." A customer approached the desk and Qrow turned towards them, relief spreading through him. "Hello, can I help you?"

❖

On Friday Qrow collected Ruby from the train station as planned. She looked tired but happy, he thought. His own uni days were a distant memory and he suspected new undergraduates had even more to deal with these days, but as she had only positive things to say about her first half-term, he wasn't worried.

They went out for a pizza later and while they waited for their dessert, Ruby suddenly said, "I have a favour to ask and you may not like the sound of it but please don’t say no straight away."

Qrow sat back and crossed his arms. "I always get this sinking feeling when you ask for something at top speed like that."

"It’s for my first term essay. So you can’t _really_ object," she wheedled.

"Try me." Qrow’s voice was firm but he suspected that, as usual, Ruby would persuade him.

"So, you’ve heard of this Heterochromic Soulmates thing?"

Qrow groaned. "Oh for Pete’s sake, you can’t be serious? The aggravation I’ve had at work with people staring at me—"

"But no, this is _science_. Just listen."

Ruby explained at great length and in detail how she wanted to use Qrow—"totally anonymously, of course"— as a test subject in how expectations in personal relationships were affected by external parameters. Or something.

"And this fits in with your psychology course requirements?" _Uni must have changed a lot since my time_.

"It does, my tutor thinks it’s innovative," she said eagerly.

"Well, I suppose if that’s the case— go on then, I'll help."

Ruby almost clapped her hands. "Thank you, I was sure you’d say no. We can get your account set up this weekend and I have _lots_ of questions to ask you."

"Fair enough, as long as they aren’t _too_ personal." Qrow was on good terms with his niece, but some things you just didn’t share.

"Don’t worry, I’ll try not to embarrass you too much. And you never know, you might find a match!"

"I doubt I’d be that lucky," said Qrow, trying not to sound too morose.

At that moment their desserts arrived, and Ruby turned her attention to the more pressing question of chocolate fudge cake.

❖

"What do you mean, there's a match?" Clover whispered. He had no idea why he did this as there were only the two of them in the office.

Harriet sniggered. "I mean, there's a match. Ninety-eight percent it says."

"What does that even mean? This is all rubbish. How can you even quantify it? This is all nonsense." Clover knew he was babbling but he couldn't think straight. Harriet was still speaking but he couldn't take it in. "Anyway, who is she? This model of perfection who suits me in every way?"

"As I said, _he_ works in a library."

"Hmm, she's probably about sixty with pince-nez or something. Wait, did you say _he_?" A shiver passed through his body. "He's probably about sixty with a monocle or something..."

"When did you last visit a library, Ebi? It only gives basic information. He works in a library, he's forty-two, he lives within thirty miles of Oxford."

Clover felt he had stepped onto the wildest ride at the theme park. His stomach had been left behind and his heart was racing. _This is all nonsense, there’s no science to support this stupid idea_.

Harriet was still speaking. He tried to focus. "Is there... does it have a picture?" he asked in what he hoped was an offhand way.

"Yeah, kind of." She held out her phone.

Clover looked into eyes which mirrored his own. Only the eyes, no other part of the face was visible. Eyes which were the reverse of his, with just a few more lines at the corners. _Ninety-eight percent._ He swallowed hard, wondering if he could summon up some luck to cover the remaining two percent.

❖

"Uh, hi there." Ruby’s face flickered as the image stabilised, and now Qrow could see her properly.

"Howdy, what’s up?" They didn’t videocall often so he hoped there wasn't a problem.

"Probably nothing." Ruby sounded like she was holding in a laugh.

" _What’s up?_ " Qrow asked more firmly.

"Well, do you remember the essay I’m working on? About expectations in personal relationships—"

"Yeah, I remember. Has it been marked, you didn’t flunk it did you?"

"No, it’s not due in for another two weeks. It’s just—" she broke off with a grin.

"Tell me already."

"There’s a match." Ruby looked triumphantly at him.

"What do you mean, a match? Oh god not the eye colour thing?" Realisation dawned on Qrow, along with a crawling sensation up his back.

"Absolutely. Ninety-eight percent!" she announced.

"What does that even mean? Who is this paragon of virtue?" Qrow didn’t really care, he didn’t know why he was asking, there wasn’t a woman in the world who would want him, surely?

"He’s an IT professional. Thirty-five years old. Lives within thirty miles of Coventry."

"He? What do you mean, _he_?"

"It’s a guy, Uncle Qrow."

_Well, there we go then_. Qrow didn’t feel disappointed. He didn’t even feel surprised, now he thought about it. He felt— keen.

"Does it show a picture?" he asked idly.

Ruby held her phone up to the screen. It wasn’t very clear, but Qrow could see enough. Eyes that were the inverse of his own, in an almost smooth, lightly tanned face. Well, as much of the face as he could see, anyway.

"Well, well," he said.

The image disappeared as Ruby put her phone down. Qrow tried to ignore the sudden feeling of disappointment.

"So, what are you gonna do about it?" she asked.

❖

It had been a week since Ruby's revelation. He had taken over the ChromoMatch account and changed the password, but that was as far as he'd dared to go. There had been no app notification to say the other person was interested, or even knew about the match. _Ninety-eight percent, though. Aren't they even wondering?_ Then it occurred to Qrow that he hadn't initiated any contact so it didn't mean anything.

He'd made the mistake of mentioning it to Yasmin, laughing at the whole idea as if he wanted her to tell him what a load of nonsense it was. She hadn't though. "Seriously, what's the problem in just messaging the person? You don't have to take it any further if you don't want to."

So he sat, looking at the message he'd drafted. _Am I about to make a huge mistake?_ "Fuck it, what's the harm?" He hit the send button.

  


Clover's phone pinged and he picked it up in exasperation. How could he concentrate with one of them texting him every five minutes? How could he get on with his work when he spent every other minute wondering if the owner of those eyes would get in touch? Why didn't he do it himself?

He looked at the notification which indicated there was a message in his ChromoMatch inbox. He thanked every god there might be that he'd wrested control of his account from Harriet, and tapped the box with a trembling finger.

"Hi, this stupid app says we have a 98% match on this stupid eye thing. I know it's stupid but what do you think?"

_Yeah, they seem keen._ But Clover had to concede at least the other guy had the balls to contact him. _1-0 to him, I guess._

Clover closed the app and put his phone down. He turned back to his screen with no enthusiasm whatever, and wondered about the person who'd messaged him.

  


Qrow didn't put his phone down for another fifteen minutes or so. Why he thought there'd be an instant response, he didn't know. _Probably won't even get a reply. Stupid app._ He took some returned books and began putting them back on their correct shelves. Well, most of them. A few ended up in the wrong place, as he wondered about the guy he'd sent a stupid message to.

  


Clover was about to leave the office when there was another ping on his phone. "Don't forget to check in with your potential soulmate!" the reminder said chirpily. With a sigh, he sat back down and tapped the box. _I should reply, it would be bad manners not to._ He typed into the reply box, added an attachment, and hit send before he could persuade himself this was a bad idea.

  


Qrow was halfway home when his phone buzzed. He couldn’t look at it until he’d parked outside his apartment, and when he saw the screen his heart seemed to stutter. There was a message from the stupid app which said _This is me_ and it had a photo attached. Did he want to open it? Apparently he could report inappropriate images to their content moderator. _Oh that’s alright then._

He tapped the okay button and sat in his car without moving, for what seemed like five hours but was only five minutes. The face on the screen looked up at him in slight confusion. He had one eyebrow raised, and a slight smile twisted his mouth asymmetrically in a way that made Qrow feel totally unnecessary. _I am a man in my forties, I don’t feel like this_ he told himself pointlessly. The guy was good looking but it wasn’t that which had Qrow rooted to his car seat. His eyes were mesmerising and Qrow found he was touching the screen gently. His own eyes prickled and he rubbed at them impatiently.

_What the fuck is going on and why do I feel like this and why did he have to be so gorgeous?_ Qrow had no answers to any of these questions.

❖

Clover hadn't slept well and woke up wondering why he felt this way. He blamed Harriet and her enthusiasm for getting his hopes up. Of course you couldn't expect to meet someone through what was basically a dating app, and jump straight into the happy ever after thing. He regretted sending his picture and decided he'd delete his account and forget all about it. He'd do it after breakfast.

While Clover was eating his breakfast, his phone pinged. Hoping it wasn't a work problem, he picked it up and almost dropped it in his cereal. There was a message from the app with an attachment.

He put the phone down and finished his breakfast. He cleaned his teeth and got dressed. He gathered his stuff and put his shoes on. He picked up his phone before leaving the house, and finally found the courage to open the message. _And this is me_ it read. He opened the attachment and Qrow looked up at him. Well, almost. Clover studied the screen, not realising he was holding his breath. The man was looking slightly to one side, his face quite pale and with a fair few lines at the corners of his eyes and round his mouth. His dark untidy hair seemed to stick up in every possible direction, flecked with light grey in a way Clover found absurdly attractive. He looked at Qrow's eyes again. And again. He sat down suddenly on the hall bench, his legs a little weak. He blinked a prickly sensation away from his own eyes as he tried to breathe normally, realising his body seemed to have forgotten what it was meant to be doing.

_Okay, well this is crazy. It's only a photo, it might not even be him, this could all be a massive joke._ But Clover knew it was not a joke. He had never felt less like laughing, as he gazed at his phone and wondered what on earth he was meant to do about this.

  


"So, did you message the guy?" Yasmin wanted Qrow to find someone, she felt he deserved it. He was a bit odd at times but she had seen how he spoke to the children that came into the library, how patient he was and how he made them laugh. He deserved it.

"He um, sent me his photo yesterday. Well if it _was_ him, you can't always be sure these days."

"Let's see it then."

Qrow felt himself blushing as he held out his phone. "Qrow, he's... well, gorgeous I guess is the word."

"Yeah." His face was now on fire. _Can you spontaneously combust from over-blushing?_

"So, what next?" Yasmin returned the phone and looked at him expectantly.

"Well, I thought I'd better... send him my photo, so I did. That'll probably be the end of it." Qrow laughed a hollow laugh.

"Don't put yourself down. I know you're getting on a bit, but you have a lot going for you, Qrow."

"Yeah thanks, that's bolstered me no end."

"Well, let's wait and see. Keep your pecker up." With that remark she pinched his chin and walked off.

  


Clover managed to last until lunchtime before the urge to look at Qrow's photo became too strong. His phone seemed to burn in his hand as he stared at the screen. He found himself gently touching the corners of Qrow's eyes, the edges of his mouth... _This is weird. I need to do something or I will probably explode._ He opened the app and typed in a longer message, hitting send with a sense of finality. _This will either do the trick or frighten him off completely._

  


"So he wants to do a video call?" Yasmin was excited on Qrow's behalf. Qrow looked like he would rather retire to a life of quiet contemplation as a hermit. "It'll be fine," she reassured him. "I can sit beside you if that would help."

"Uh no, not sure it would. He'd think he was getting two for the price of one."

"Well, if you're sure. Where will you do it?"

"At home. I'll wait until I get home."

It was an early closing day at the library so Qrow was at home by 3 o'clock. He spent the next thirty minutes pacing up and down, washing his face, combing his hair, cleaning his teeth, changing his shirt. He wasn't nervous at all.

He sent the message. _Video call now okay?_

  


Clover saw the message and went into a state of mild panic. "Uh, I have to take a call Harriet, I'll do it outside, because..." he trailed off and left the office quickly before she could question him. Sitting in his car, he tried a few deep breaths before replying _Okay, now's fine._

After a few moments his phone pinged and he accepted the call. Qrow's pixelated face appeared on the screen, froze, and re-appeared as a normal picture. Clover held his phone propped up on the steering wheel. "Uh, hi there."

"Hello." Qrow paused. "So... yeah."

"Uh, I'm not usually this bad at stringing words together, but— this is a bit odd."

"Well yeah."

Clover looked at Qrow and wondered whether this was going anywhere. "So, how come you signed up for this?"

"It was my niece, she needed a test subject for her uni course. It's all rubbish, though, isn't it?"

"I expect so... my colleague set me up. I didn't imagine..." Clover rubbed at his eyes. "Is it just me, or does using this app make your eyes prickle?"

"Yeah, now you come to mention it. That's odd." Qrow looked directly into Clover's eyes and both men said "Ow!" simultaneously.

"Uh, double weird." Clover found he was breathing easier now. "Look, I'm no expert at this kind of thing. Do you want to meet up, for coffee or something? Actually, I don't even know where you live. Actually, I don't even know your name." Clover found himself blushing. "I'm Clover."

"And I'm Qrow. With a 'Q'," he added. "I live in Banbury."

"Oh, okay, you're only about half an hour from me. How is Banbury for coffee shops?"

"Pretty good." Apart from the eye irritation Qrow felt this was going well. "Maybe we _should_ meet up. So we can prove this is all nonsense." He looked at Clover again, a slight smile curving his mouth. As Clover looked back, Qrow felt his stomach lurch. Clover smiled, and it did it again.

"I'll check my diary and suggest some dates. If that's okay?"

"Yeah, sure. Good to talk to you, Clover." He liked the feel of the name as he said it.

"Yeah, you too. I'll be in touch." Clover ended the call but continued to gaze at his phone. His stomach slowly settled and his eyes finally stopped prickling.

❖

Clover and Harriet entered the coffee shop and had no trouble spotting Qrow sitting in a booth with someone Clover presumed was the work colleague he said he would bring. She glanced up as they approached the table and smiled, holding out her hand. "Hi, I'm Yasmin, Qrow's minder." Qrow groaned as he got to his feet, shooting Yasmin a look before turning towards the newcomers.

"Ignore her, she's—" he broke off as he looked up into Clover's face.

Yasmin gestured to Harriet and they stepped away from the booth, sitting themselves at a table further away. Harriet looked at Clover then back to Yasmin. She arched her eyebrows and suppressed a giggle, Yasmin joining her as they turned away to look at the menu.

Qrow rubbed his face. "Hi there. Sorry, my damned eyes, I thought it was that stupid app but..."

Clover was blinking hard. "Mine too," he said. "Odd. Anyway, shall we—"

Qrow found his eyes were more comfortable if he didn't look directly at Clover's face. Unfortunately this was exactly where he wanted to look. The guy's photo had not lied, he was... very attractive. _There has to be a downside._ He compromised by glancing at Clover quickly and then looking slightly over his shoulder.

They ordered their drinks, with a muffin for Clover and a cookie for Qrow. They chatted for nearly an hour, agreeing the soulmates concept was claptrap and fixing a date for another coffee the following week, before Clover paid the bill and gestured to Harriet.

"You not paying for us, then?"

"You can put it on expenses," sighed Clover.

Harriet winked at Yasmin. "Luckily I have a generous boss. See you later, Yasmin." She left with Clover as Qrow looked at Yasmin.

"See you later?"

"She gave me her number. Looks like a result for both of us."

"Yeah." Qrow was thoughtful as they walked back to the car.

"So, how was he?"

"As you said. Gorgeous."

"And to talk to? How was that?"

"Nice? Comfortable? Except when I looked in his eyes. That hurt a bit."

"That’s odd. Although—" Yasmin hesitated. "I did read something a while back— about this whole eye colour thing. It said when you spend time with your soulmate—"

"Oh please, not you as well."

"I’m just saying what I read. It can affect your eyes. That’s all."

"Hmph. Sounds like crap to me."

"Well yeah me too. But... you’re going to see him again?"

"We thought we would, if only to prove how stupid it all is."

Yasmin rolled her eyes and said nothing.

  


A week later Qrow and Clover met again, this time in a coffee shop closer to Clover. After another convivial hour or so, Clover said, "So where do we go from here? Are we on a mission to disprove this soulmate theory?" He tried to keep his tone casual.

"Why not, it’s not like I have anything better to do with my time." Qrow smiled, taking the edge off his words.

Their eyes met, both men experiencing a slight discomfort. Clover blinked a few times. "Still feeling it?" Qrow’s voice was soft.

"A bit, yeah. Not so bad though. You?"

"A little... nothing I can’t handle," Qrow smiled again. Clover wondered why his heart refused to behave itself whenever he looked at the man opposite.

"Qrow—" Clover broke off awkwardly.

"Yeah?"

"N— nothing." He stared out of the window, and Qrow asked himself why the sight of another man’s blushing face should make his stomach do cartwheels.

  


Another week passed. Another seven days during which Clover could not stop thinking about Qrow. He looked at the picture on his phone so often he was worried he’d wear the pixels out, until he reminded himself that wasn’t how it worked. _Soulmates, it’s all rubbish._ He looked at Qrow’s face again.

  


During this week Qrow was busy preparing the library for a special exhibition. He was also busy thinking about Clover, trying to make sense of what he felt when he looked at the picture on his phone yet again. He still couldn’t buy into the idiotic soulmates idea, but— _you don’t need to be soulmates to feel like this, surely?_ Clover’s face with its quizzical smile looked up at him once more. __

  


The following day he suggested to Clover they meet again. "Not another coffee shop, though. At least... how do you feel about a National Trust tearoom?"

"Never considered it, but I could be persuaded."

So the next weekend they visited a nearby National Trust property which was hosting a display of sculptures in its grounds. After the tearoom visit, which Clover found to be more than satisfactory, they collected a map and began to follow the art trail around the extensive park and woodland surrounding the house.

After losing the trail three times, Qrow laughed. "This was supposed to be easy."

"It’s still fun though." Clover stopped and studied the map. "If we go that way, we should be back on track." He looked at Qrow, whose expression was unreadable.

"Fuck it." Qrow stepped forward and grabbed Clover’s shoulders, kissing him clumsily. Clover’s brief moment of surprise was replaced by overwhelming relief as he cupped Qrow’s face, slowing down the kiss gently. After a moment they parted, breath loud in the stillness of the trees.

"That wasn’t on the map." Clover’s voice was shaky.

"Uh sorry, was that a bad idea?"

"No, probably the best one you’ve had so far." He raised a hand and drew a slow line down the side of Qrow’s face. Qrow took his hand, kissing the palm softly.

"Well, there we are then. I feel a lot better now." He smiled at Clover and picked up the map. "Shall we try and find our way back to the house?"

❖

The following day Qrow called Ruby. "You said you wanted me to let you know of any— physical changes, especially with my eyes?"

"Yeah, what’s happened? Hold on, I’ll record this for later."

"It looks like they’re changing. Colour, I mean. At least, the one that’s always been green... it isn’t any more."

Ruby raised her eyebrows. "What’s happened to it?"

"It looks like it’s changing to match the other one. I’ll end up with two red eyes at this rate."

"That’s interesting. What about Clover?"

"What about him, what’s this got to do with him?"

Qrow remembered Yasmin’s comment of a few weeks ago. He felt his face redden.

"Just ask him how his eyes are, can you? And let me know asap."

  


"I only noticed this morning. I was going to call you but you got there first."

Qrow looked at the screen, at Clover’s eyes which were now an almost matching shade of green.

"What’s going on, d’you reckon?"

"Not sure, I have to let Ruby know and then... well maybe she’ll have some answers, I just— don’t know."

"Okay, keep me posted, will you?" Qrow nodded. "Oh, and Qrow... I really enjoyed yesterday."

Qrow looked at Clover’s reddening cheeks. "Me too."

  


Qrow thought he’d experienced mortification before. His call to Ruby took it to a whole new level.

"So, this is what the theory is. Are you ready?"

"Of course, how bad can it be?"

"It is theorised that heterochromatic eye colour can be affected by certain chemicals generated in the body when— when a person is in a particular state."

"What kind of state?" Qrow’s voice was apprehensive.

"Uh, in love. It's all about the neuro-transmitters."

There was a long silence as Qrow pondered on the meaning of life and whether you could divorce your niece.

"Look, I'm not making this up. And it's only a theory, maybe there's nothing in it..." She tailed off as Qrow looked at her.

"There may be something in it." He ended the call abruptly, his hand shaking.

❖

"As it happens I'm working from home today, if you want to drive up?" Clover was intrigued why Qrow wanted to speak in person rather than over the phone.

"Yeah, if you're sure that would be okay?"

"No it's fine, I'll send you my postcode."

  


Qrow pulled up outside Clover's house about an hour later. He wasn't certain himself why he felt the need to tell Clover face to face. _Are you sure you don't know why?_ He found himself blushing as he rang the doorbell.

  


"So, what's the word?" Clover handed him a mug of tea and gestured to the sofa.

Qrow sat down and placed his tea on a small table. He looked at Clover and related what Ruby had told him. He pressed his hands onto his knees to steady them, as Clover took a sip of tea before putting his mug down, saying, "What do you think, is it nonsense? Or—"

Qrow couldn't meet Clover's eyes. "Before yesterday— I've never felt the urge to kiss anyone, hardly. But... you're different." He managed to look up, relieved to see that Clover didn't look horrified.

"Don't look so worried, Qrow. Two people kissing isn't the end of the world."

"But I don't know what it's the beginning of."

"Who does? Whether you buy into the soulmate idea or not, you never know at the start how things will be. Let me tell you something." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he looked at the floor. "I've not led a— sheltered life. I haven't denied myself anything because I wasn't in love. Does that put you off?"

"Why should it? You're you, and I'm me." Qrow found the disclosure didn't concern him as much as he would have thought.

"But," Clover continued, "there's never been anyone I wanted to get... closer to. Until now."

"Me neither. I just never bothered with all the trial runs." Qrow's laugh was a little shaky.

Clover turned towards him. "I want you to kiss me again. I need verification," he smiled.

Qrow leaned towards Clover a little awkwardly, his kiss more sure this time, but then he broke off. "This isn’t as easy as I thought it would be," he complained.

Clover couldn’t help laughing as he said, "Come here, you hopeless case." He stretched his legs along the sofa and pulled Qrow down towards him, until they were both comfortable.

"That’s better. Much better." Qrow touched Clover’s cheek. "How are your eyes feeling? Mine seem okay now."

"They’re fine, more than happy with the view."

Qrow blushed as Clover stroked the side of his face. "Beautiful eyes." His voice was soft, his breath warm against Qrow’s cheek. "You don’t have to accept the soulmates stuff, just be grateful to it for helping us get together."

"That’s true. About time I had some luck in my life." He turned his head, resting his face against Clover’s chest with a sigh. Clover wrapped his arms about the older man, hugging him gently. He still didn’t believe in soulmates, but he had found Qrow, and that was good enough.

**Author's Note:**

> Friendly comments always appreciated, thank you.
> 
> Huge thanks to [Thuban](https://thuban-x.tumblr.com) for producing these lovely drawings for me 🙂
> 
>   
> 


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